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The Colorado Classic will eliminate its men’s field next year, becoming the country’s sole standalone women’s-only bike race on the UCI and USA Cycling Pro Road Tour calendars, organizers announced on Tuesday.
Though men will continue to race in criteriums as a part of coinciding Velorama Festival in Denver, the Colorado Classic will completely drop its UCI men’s race next year. Instead, the four-stage circuit on the UCI America Tour will dedicate its entire prize purse to women competitors.
“By creating one great race instead of two average ones, we can shine a bright light on Colorado and pro women’s racing while affecting meaningful social change,” said Ken Gart, chairman of race organizer RPM Events Group.
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Begun in 2017, the Colorado Classic featured both men’s and women’s categories in its two previous editions. Next year, it will increase its financial support to teams and racers to $135,000, with a prize purse of $75,000—a sum larger than the men’s and more than four times that of the women’s in 2018. It will also have an all-female team of announcers, a notable move in light of cycling commentators who still make headlines for sexist remarks.
“I was fortunate enough to have my start in a women’s-only event back in 2002 at the HP Women’s Challenge,” said legendary former pro Kristin Armstrong, a three-time Olympic gold medalist. “I know first-hand the tremendous amount of impact this will have on women’s cycling by creating and providing opportunity for spectators and riders across the world.”
Twenty pro women’s teams, featuring many of the world’s best female riders, will head to Colorado next August for the four-day race, which will stream live on Facebook. Canadian Sara Poidevin won the inaugural edition in the women’s category, while American Katie Hall took the title for team UnitedHealthcare last year.
This isn’t the first high-profile gesture toward women’s cycling from the Colorado Classic. Since its first year, the race has forgone podium girls, instead using established names in cycling as awards presenters. And the first time an out trans woman competed in the pro peleton in the U.S. was at the 2017 edition, when Colorado Springs native Jillian Bearden toed the line.
Jacob joined Runner’s World and Bicycling as an editorial fellow after graduating from Northwestern University in 2018, where he studied journalism. His work focuses mainly on news and service pieces for both audiences, with the occasional foray into longer feature work and product reviews. He especially loves to highlight the journeys of unique runners and riders doing amazing things in their communities.
